The Fever

We have the fever, but not your typical fever. We have home remodeling fever. Our favorite and most frequently visited stores have quickly become Menards, Home Depot, and Lowe’s. We are almost mesmerized walking through the aisles with the ideas running wild. Matt has taken the handy-man role to heart and continues to surprise me as he explains different how-to projects as we walk through the stores. It must be all of those Home Improvement videos from the library he has been studying. The To Do list continues to grow longer, and the hard work (and money spent) will be worth it in the end.

Project and To Do list, paint swatches, remodeling magazines
= Home Remodeling Fever

Painting (for the time being) has ended. We finished the living room, dining room, guest bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and hallways. The only thing left to paint is the master bedroom, but we haven’t figured out what we’re doing with it, let alone started shopping for a bed and brainstorming color schemes. Painting has been enjoyable, and our painting skills have progressed with time. It is literally the easiest and most cost effective way to change up a room. Our suggestions – Use a high quality paint in eggshell or satin (Hirschfields, Sherwin Williams, etc.) and don’t use painting tape for the trim. I didn’t tape the kitchen, and it made a world of difference – so much easier, but make sure you have a steady hand! Don’t be afraid to ask for a discount if you are buying a lot of paint. Hirschfields gave us a 15% new home discount on everything we purchased which added up in the long run. 

As you may or may not know, we are renting out the lower level (family room, bathroom, and bedroom) to a friend of ours. Designing and installing a basement kitchen has been a learning experience. Thanks to Menards’ lovely design program, we had fun designing the kitchen cabinets and shopping for appliances (recommend Sears Outlet). It was a good learning experience, and it made us even more excited to update and redesign our kitchen. It is convenient to get plumber and electrician referrals from those you know too (Thanks Nancy!).

So you know those "annoying" people who drive slow on the freeway and highways with their emergency lights on while moving large pieces of furniture.  Well unfortunately (and I almost hate to admit this), but I was one of those people this week.  We had to transport the kitchen cabinets somehow!  I had to laugh to myself the entire way home at what I was doing... this is totally the "Kramer way" of moving things.  On the plus side, we got a great deal on these cabinets from Building Materials Outlet in Eagan.  It's amazing what you can find looking through their so-called "miscellanous" cabinets, if you know what you're looking for.  All you need is creativity, a tape measure, patience and pieces that match.

We are starting to move tomorrow and this weekend. Yikes! I’ll be glad when it is all over and things are back in place. Oh the joys of moving!